Homecoming
by chubsXofXtheXfrozenXstates
Summary: Zack and Cloud return home from a five year war, and Zack has a talk with someone special to him.


Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy VII, or the characters. Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep.

This is an Alternate Universe fic of Zack and Cloud returning from a war that lasted for five years, and Zack has a talk with someone very close to him. You could say that I'm all for Zack and Aerith as a pairing..... but just not in this one.

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The train lurched to a stop, launching me awake. I looked up to see Cloud, my best friend, grin at me. A Shinra infantryman shouted out, "We're home!" at the top of his lungs, arousing cheers and yells from both SOLDIER operatives and infantrymen alike. I sat up and rubbed the sleep from my eyes, and stared at Cloud. I was proud of him. He'd proven himself over the past five years that he was indeed capable of being in SOLDIER and he deserved a spot in the ranks. If I were Director Lazard, I'd pull him up in a heartbeat.

The doors whooshed open, and a deluge of men and teens flooded out of the train car. Cloud and I were the last ones off. Many of the soldiers were reunited with their families, sharing hugs and kisses and just enjoying the opportunity to be together after so many long hard years. I didn't expect to see my family waiting for me. After all, they lived in Gongaga and according to my dad, he'd rather "chop his fingers off and feed them to a wild chocobo before he ever set foot in a dirty, rotten, polluted city." Either way, I didn't care. I was looking for one person in particular.

I looked for the woven flower basket securely hanging off of her right arm.

I looked for the chestnut colored hair, and the pink ribbon tied around her braid bouncing up and down.

I looked for those bright green eyes, full of life, love, and happiness.

And I didn't see any of them.

I continued to look around, even as the men said goodbye to their loved ones and headed to the Shinra Building. Pretty soon, Cloud and I were the only ones left. I looked up at the sky to see rain clouds rolling in. Cloud had started for the Shinra Building himself, and I soon followed. However, when I heard the car door slam while walking through Sector 8, I stopped. I looked in the direction of Loveless Avenue to see a brown haired beauty walking in my direction. I just watched her as she made her way up to me. She stopped two feet in front of me and looked into my eyes. I returned the stare.

We stood silent for a few minutes, during which she had averted her gaze and was looking at the ground. When she looked up at me again, I decided to break the uncomfortable silence. "Heya."

She still stared at me, a kind of happy, but mostly sad look on her face. "Hello."

Silence.

I opened my mouth to say something, but she beat me to it. "You called and told me that you were coming home four and a half years ago. I was at the Station platform single day for two months, just waiting for you to show up." The sadness was evident in her eyes.

"Yeah, about that. I'm sorry. They extended our service time and they confis-"

"You were gone for five whole years, Zack. I know you couldn't help it, but it was such a long time."

"Hey Zack! You coming?" I turned to look at Cloud, who was standing at the entrance to Sector 0 and the Shinra Building.

"Yeah, go ahead, I'll be there in a bit." I called back to him. He just shrugged and continued on his way.

I turned back to the girl that I thought about every single day while out on the battlefield. "I know it was a long time, but the war lasted longer than any of us expected it to. Thank you for waiting for me though."

She winced slightly, and folded her hands together in front of her, giving her the image that she was praying. "But that's the thing, Zack. I couldn't wait. It was just so long. I was lonely. You didn't call once after the announcement. I didn't even know if you were still alive."

I tried to defend myself. "Yeah, but our commanding officers confiscated our cellphones during the free time that we had. There was no way I could call you."

She shook her head. "It doesn't matter anymore. I was tired of being lonely and I just couldn't wait anymore." The streetlamp's yellow light reflected off of the diamond attached to gold band on her left hand ring finger. My eyes widened slightly at the engagement ring, but I kept my cool. I don't know how exactly. Must be the mako.

She bowed her head. "I'm sorry, Zack." She then turned and took two steps, but stopped and looked back over her shoulder. "Goodbye."

I stared on in shocked silence as I watched the only woman that I had ever grown to love walk away, fully committed to someone else. She got in the back seat of the sleek limousine, and the driver shut the door. He looked to me and nodded, before getting in, starting the engine, and driving away down Loveless Avenue.

I was frozen, still in shock. I guess the downside of being able to keep my cool was that the shock lasted longer than normal. I turned and started heading for the Shinra Building, thinking to myself.

_Man, what a homecoming._


End file.
